1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a liquid fuel gasifying device and a method for producing the device, and a burning device to be used for gas lighters, gas igniters, curling irons, and gas irons.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Gas lighters used for lighting cigarettes with a liquefied gas filled under a high pressure in a gas storage reservoir is designed to gasify the liquefied gas and discharge it as a gaseous fuel out into the atmosphere. The liquefied gas commonly used is a mixture of butane and propane gas.
The gas lighter uses a mixture of both -42.1.degree. C. b.p. propane and -0.5.degree. C. b.p. butane as a fuel gas. This mixture is gasified through high pressure treatment at normal temperature and stored in a state of fluid in the gas storage reservoir of the gas lighter. The fuel, when burned, is changed into a gas under reduced pressure so that it can be discharged out into the atmosphere under an appropriate gas pressure. For this purpose, the gasifying device is used. As an important function of this gasifying device, it is necessary to change the fuel stored in a state of liquid in the gas storage reservoir of the lighter under reduced pressure into a gas by passing through a gasifying casing and, at the same time, to apply, to the liquefied gas, a sufficient amount of heat required for the gasification of the fuel.
Furthermore, the gasifying device requires a function to regulate the quantity of gas to be supplied in the course of, or before and after, gasification.
FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a gasifying device of a gas lighter disclosed Japanese Patent Publication No. 63-26285.
The liquefied gas prefilled under a high pressure in a gas storage reservoir 2 of a gas lighter body 1 produced sturdy and gastight of plastics, or charged from outside under a high pressure via a filling valve (not shown) provided in the gas lighter body 1, is led into a gasifier 4 by a wick 3 made of porous or fibrous material.
The gasification of the liquefied gas is effected by passing the liquefied gas through a filter 5 made of sintered metal or ceramics which is a porous gasifying member with which one end of the wick 3 is in contact to lead the liquefied gas through by utilizing the capillary action of the wick 3.
As an ignition lever not shown or other for igniting the lighter is operated, a nozzle 6 is pushed upward, thus allowing a gas shut off plug 7 installed to the nozzle 6 to move upward.
At the center of the top section of the metal gasifying casing 8 of the gasifier 4 is formed a gas passage 9. With the upward movement of the gas shut-off plug 7 together with the nozzle 6, the liquefied gas passes, with a pressure of its own, through the filter 5 while gasifying and simultaneously decreasing in pressure, passing at the center of the nozzle 6 to be discharged outside at a tip 1 of the nozzle 6.
The gas thus gasified that has reached the tip 10 is ignited with a spark produced by a flint or a piezoelectric element not shown, burning at the tip 10.
Heat necessary for the gasification of the liquefied gas is supplied from the filter 5 and the casing 8 of the gasifier 4 which, being in contact with the liquefied gas, serve as a heat source.
The gasifying device of FIG. 4 is extremely useful, in the respect that no flame length adjusting means is needed, as compared with that using a compressible porous member as a filter. However, when ceramics having good gas permeation temperature characteristics are used for the filter 5 in place of sintered metal which permits the permeation of an increased amount of gas at a temperature of around 30.degree. C. to 40.degree. C., it is necessary to adjust, at the time of manufacture of the filter, the amount of gas to be produced through the ceramics filter, which determines the flame length, because the gas permeation characteristics slightly vary with each production lot of ceramics voluminously produced. It, however, becomes an important problem, in controlling a manufacturing cost, how the amount of gas to be produced through the ceramics filter can be adjusted when very cheap, disposable lighters are manufactured.
Furthermore, there arises such a problem that the gasifying device shown in FIG. 4 is not enough to supply sufficient heat for the stabilized gasification of the liquefied gas through ceramics of the filter 5, resulting in an unstable flame.